Henry Ford is credited with saying that “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right.” But what he didn’t say is that sometimes when you think you can’t, it’s because you don’t have all the information.

There are a growing number of veterans transitioning out of the military (compared to the last 10 years) as we draw down our force size while wars wrap up and various budget crises or reallocations play out. They are trying to determine what their future holds. And there are some significant issues related to knowing what they need to know for their futures.

ThinkYouCan

Many veterans didn’t go to college right out of high school – some didn’t think it was possible, some thought they weren’t “college material” – my high school advisor told me I wasn’t, and I ended up graduating in the top of my undergrad class after my Air Force service, and in the top of my law school class. And I was a junior enlisted member, a Sergeant in the Air Force.

What changed that made me “college material?” That I learned much in the Air Force during my year of classes when I entered the Air Force. That I practiced those skills and learned even more in each role I held in the Air Force. That I learned about further educational opportunities. That I had some visibility into college from same-age peers. And visibility into law school (thanks, amusingly, to Scott Turow’s book, “One-L” as well as my divorce attorney – ask me about these sometime). I still missed some things – I didn’t know how important internships were in law school summers and instead crammed four classes into each of two summers and graduated quickly. Fortunately I had a great opportunity to take a job and start a career in academia (as a professional staff member, not a faculty member – another area I lacked knowledge in, thinking professional staff and faculty were equally regarded). I love my career – three research centers into my career in academia I think I have much to share with both students and colleagues. But, I didn’t know that not having an internship or clerkship would make it really hard, or almost impossible, to start a career in a traditional law office, let alone “Big Law” even as an alum of a top 20 law school

We don’t know what we don’t know. And that’s understandable. But what’s not understandable is why we don’t make extraordinary efforts to inform others on what they need to know for their post-service careers. We need to share with others what we know about their interests. We need to develop their latent interests. We need to tell them they can achieve what they had no idea they could, or what was even available to them. And, we need to share with them aspirational goals they had no idea that their interests and talents could align to. Far too many have important Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) or STEAM (the A is Arts) talents, but have no idea that these are in demand or how to develop those talents into careers. Careers that pay phenomenally well! That match their salaries, benefits, and expectations from their military careers. The junior enlisted members with mad skills in computer science and cybersecurity or the aircraft engine mechanics who can build careers in advanced manufacturing. The electronics techs who can build and maintain the advanced fabs that will build our IT networks, or architect the networks that we need for our advanced energy, city, transit, or other infrastructure.

The folks who built power and data networks during our nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan are ready to build the advanced fiber networks we need in our rural municipalities, or building out the capacity in our urban areas – whether part of large conglomerates or small municipal utilities. Sure, we’re in competitive capitalism, but it’s pretty clear that the competition is ignoring many areas, and that those areas have a lot to contribute given the opportunity.

We have technical writers, trainers and instructors in service who, post-service, can contribute to knowledge transfer in civilian training courses, community colleges, or who have degrees and can teach at the secondary and post-secondary levels if they knew the paths into those careers. It won’t take so much to share what those paths are, and we need to do it for our veterans, their families, and our country. We’re slipping in some ways (whatever you think, it’s clear that some of our educational systems are lacking – our veterans are as well or better educated than many in our communities, and they’re ready to keep serving either in careers or by gaining further education and careers).

So, how does this tie to academic intrapreneurship and consulting for universities? Simple. At my last institute, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, we built an infrastructure to do this – we built capacity to compete for and win contracts to deliver training and education. IVMF taught and trained entrepreneurship to veterans and families – over 39,000 to date. That’s over 39,000 people with the tools to start small businesses, or build large ventures. To hire their peers. To contribute to the economy. IVMF and SBA built capacity internally and externally, collaboratively, to develop and deliver curricula to them. IVMF did its own research on how veterans pursue higher education successfully and shared that with both veterans and institutions of higher education, as well as with policy makers and executive agencies. Student Veterans of America, my current employer, does that as well, building the triumvirate of education, the private sector, and government to the advantage of our student veterans and the nation. SVA, IVMF, and yet another institute I helped build, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University built collaborations with the private sector on employment and careers, for student veterans, veteran alumni of higher education, veterans with disabilities, people with disabilities broadly, and others. My organizations have used the infrastructure we have to deliver for our universities – for faculty, staff and students, and for our stakeholders, to build research institutes, to build outreach programs, education and training curricula, and more.

We know we can, and we’re aiming to help others learn they can. That way they will think they can – and they will be right. And they’ll have the information they need to succeed. We all need to contribute to these goals.

“Proximity is not a stand in for expertise.” That was Seth Godin’s recent closing line from his email “Never Eat Sushi at the Airport.” He was talking about choosing what’s closest rather than choosing based on who has the expertise to prepare sushi, who to ask for entertainment or restaurant tips, or who will give advice based on their own interests instead of your best interests.

I thought about it overnight, and the next morning thought about how the advice applied to the work I do with veterans. There were two specific areas that this clearly applies to – the first is where to go to college or get a university degree, and the second is where to seek a career. Sure, many veterans pick where they return to based on where they came from, where their families are, or a myriad of other geographic variables. That’s fine. But where this breaks down is when a veteran chooses a college based on what’s local or accessible. Or when a veteran or family member chooses a career based on what’s locally available. Sure, sometimes we have to make short term choices based on geography. Even then we should make our best choices, knowing they are short term, but understanding the long term implications of the choice. It’s one thing to take a short-term job while considering what’s next, another to limit your life’s choices to what’s nearby without considering why you’re making these choices and what their implications are for the life course.

When making choices about education, it’s even more important to think about what the long-term implications are for short-term choices. High cost options for short-term ease of access might have long-term repercussions. Student loans might limit career mobility, geographic relocation opportunity, choices on how to support family members in their own educations, or more. High cost options might return less value than low cost options, like community colleges, or even free options like MOOCs. There’s a difference between credentialing and knowledge acquisition.

Godin understood this – if you make a short-term meal choice based on availability you might merely end up with food poisoning. If you make a short-term, proximity-based choice on education or career you might end up with a lifetime of debt, fewer career options, and limited education. Take a little time, consider what you want to do, pick your educational program based on what is in your own best, long-term interests. The same for careers – consider what makes the most sense, make the short-term choices where they are appropriate, but plan for the long term. That might mean learning a little bit about labor markets – where is unemployment low? Where are wages high? Where is the cost of living reasonable? What industry sectors are present in a given geography? How do these impact family career opportunities? Not every career is possible in every geography, and not every veteran understands how to assess this information. But, there is good advice available. Sort of like the signs in an airport – they’ll point the way to all the choices. You just have to pick the right choice!